In warehouses and similar environments, lift trucks are typically used to pick up and deliver goods for further transport or processing. One type of lift truck comprises a load handling assembly including a mast assembly and a carriage assembly comprising a pair of laterally spaced apart forks, wherein the carriage assembly is laterally movable via a sideshift assembly. This type of lift truck also includes laterally spaced apart outriggers adjacent to the forks.
When the load handling assembly is located in a home or fully lowered and retracted position, the mast assembly, carriage assembly, and forks are located between the outriggers and the forks are vertically positioned in plane with the outriggers. However, when the carriage assembly is lifted and/or when the mast assembly or carriage assembly is moved longitudinally away from the truck frame, the load handling assembly is moved from its home position. When a reach-in function (where the mast or carriage assembly is moved longitudinally back toward the home position) or a lowering function (where the carriage assembly and the forks are lowered back toward the home position) is requested, steps must be taken once the load handling assembly reaches a predetermined threshold height to ensure that the forks and/or a load carried by the forks do not contact the outriggers.
Such steps include an operator visually inspecting the position of the forks/load and activating an override command to allow continued movement of the load handling assembly back to the home position. If the operator determines that contact will or may occur between the forks/load and the outriggers, steps must be taken by the operator, e.g., adjusting the position of the forks/load with the sideshift assembly or repositioning the load, to clear the forks/load of the outriggers before continued movement of the load handling assembly back to the home position can be carried out.